Commerzbank’s commodity strategists on Monday tie the trend to a rising stock market and a stronger dollar:

Climbing equity markets and a firmer US dollar are likewise weighing on prices. Silver is also on a downward spiral, being pulled down by gold. At around $18.6 per troy ounce, it hit its lowest level in eleven months on Friday. As with gold, money managers are probably to blame for the weak silver price. They significantly built up their short positions in the week to 27 May, giving rise to net short positioning for the first time since the beginning of December. What is more, at 4,200 contracts they have also reached their highest level since the data series began in mid-2006. Until sentiment among market players shifts, gold and silver are likely to remain under pressure.

Meanwhile, RBC’s precious-metals strategist George Gero emails clients to say that gold’s price is “attempting to stabilize” after recent weeks’ selloff. He argues that “there are too many bears in the woods and stability could now bring buyers back.”

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